


White Day is Hell

by Chosha_Hoshiko



Series: Love Without Fear [6]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alligators & Crocodiles, Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Hot Springs & Onsen, I'm beginning to realize how random these tags sound, Izaya being way weirder than anyone else, Jigoku, M/M, Shizuo panicking despite the fact that this was his idea, White Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 13:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13975794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chosha_Hoshiko/pseuds/Chosha_Hoshiko
Summary: **Set with the same characters from "Private Lessons",  but can be read on its own without "Private Lessons".It's been a month since Valentine's Day, that lovers' holiday which happened to be the twins' first birthday party as well as Izaya and Shizuo's first time with each other. Izaya gave Shizuo his virginity on Valentine's Day, so what could possibly be worth three times that which Shizuo can give back on White Day?!How about a trip to a hot spring? But not just any hot spring and not just any trip. Why not take a tour through the famous Beppu Onsen? The tour they call the Beppu Hell Tour? Sounds absolutely perfect for a romantic holiday! Well, at least it sounds perfect for a romantic holiday when you're dating Orihara Izaya.Boiling water, hidden crocodiles, bloody steam, and so much more! How will Shizuo's "romantic" trip play out for the new couple?





	White Day is Hell

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CucumberSama](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CucumberSama/gifts).



> Hello everyone! So I just ran over here from posting the latest chapter of "Private Lessons" and I feel as though I am going partially crazy. Also, I never realized just how weird it would be to tag this fanfiction. I think I tagged all that I could, though, so I hope it's accurate enough!
> 
> For those of you who don't know me, hello! Nice to meet you! And for those of you who are familiar with me and the "Private Lessons" characters, welcome back! I hope you all like this little one-shot I put together today when I realized last night that today would be White Day. I promise the fic itself is not as random and scrambled as its tags. XD
> 
> Enjoy! <3

White Day. March 14th. The wonderful day so closely connected to Valentine’s Day, and so frightening for many men in Japan. After all, it was the day that they gave back – in three times the value or amount – whatever gifts they had received from their female friends and partners one month before on Valentine’s Day.

Shizuo had always been exempt from this particular fear every year up until this point. After all, no girl had ever been brave enough (or stupid enough) to offer chocolate and gifts to the monster Heiwajima Shizuo, and he wasn’t exactly the most popular guy in school with secret admirers floating around the hallways either. This had always made Valentine’s Day a little lonely for the blonde, but it made White Day ironically great. He wasn’t freaking out about his budget or the amount of chocolate he would have to buy. He wasn’t planning special trips for people and trying to display his love in the most romantic way possible. He was able to sit back calmly as everyone else rushed around, freaking out, and that was actually pretty nice.

It was still a hint to how lonely he was, but nice.

However, this year it was different.

This year he was dating the wonderful raven Orihara Izaya. This year he had a boyfriend. This year on Valentine’s Day someone had actually given him something.

Shizuo still blushed whenever he thought about that particular holiday. It had been Mairu and Kururi’s birthday, so Izaya had brought them over to the Heiwajima household for a fairytale-themed birthday party on account of the Heiwajimas. But he’d also brought a tiny box of homemade chocolate with him, one he’d made just for Shizuo, with the name “Shizu-chan” carved into it in delicate, perfect handwriting. Shizuo’s first-ever Valentine’s Day gift. But was that all? No…no, that was not all. And that was not what had made Shizuo blush either.

No. What made Shizuo blush was the small event that had occurred when playing hide-and-seek for the twins’ birthday. The small event…where he and Izaya had hidden in Shizuo’s room…and Izaya had given Shizuo his virginity.

Yes. They’d had _that_ just one month ago, the first time for both of them, and Shizuo couldn’t have been more ecstatic about it. And the incredible thing? Even if they hadn’t done it again since that moment in time, it didn’t feel awkward. Shizuo didn’t feel obligated to do it with Izaya all the time, and Izaya had told Shizuo that he didn’t feel obligated either, which was a landmark moment of happiness for the raven. Taking into account the past relationship he’d had with a guy who’d tried to rape him…well, not being obligated to have sex was a big deal for him.

Nothing felt uncomfortable between the two of them. It was almost like business as usual, even if there was a far deeper connection than there had been before.

Shizuo wondered when the next time they were going to end up doing that would be. He didn’t have an inclination to rush Izaya into anything. In fact, he was fairly certain that he would be fine waiting all the way until they were married before he ever felt himself inside of the raven again, no matter how intoxicating that feeling was. That was how much he loved the raven. That was how much he put Izaya’s happiness over his own.

Izaya’s happiness aside, Shizuo was now faced with an extremely difficult problem that he’d never had to deal with before. What to get his lover for White Day.

He’d looked up a few ideas online, but they were all pretty much the same. Get your partner more chocolate, or something worth three times the value of whatever you’d been given. But Shizuo hadn’t _just_ been given chocolate. He’d been given Izaya’s most precious possession. He’d been given the raven’s virginity. That was something he could only give away once. It was something special. A few boxes of chocolate didn’t cover that. And giving Izaya cash in the equivalent value felt like paying for prostitution, an idea which Shizuo was _not_ fond of at all.

He needed something special. Something big. Something Izaya would like.

Ironically, he found that something after listening to his father rant and freak out about what to get his mother for White Day. Each year, Shizuo’s dad had to step up his game from the last, because Namiko always stepped up her game with whatever she gave him for Valentine’s Day. This year, his wife had given him three hearts of honmei-choco _and_ the new DVD player he’d been asking for for months. It was pretty hard to figure out what was worth three times the value of that.

Thus, Shizuo’s dad was having a hard time figuring out what to do as well, and he and Shizuo had been bouncing ideas off each other for hours before stumbling on something.  
An onsen. A hot spring. They could buy their partners trips to a hot spring.

Hot springs were fantastic excursions in Japan, very popular all over the country. There were indoor ones and outdoor ones, ones that were meant to heal the sick and ones that were almost like water parks, hot springs of all shapes and sizes and styles. They were perfect for family trips, hang-outs with friends, and romantic evenings with lovers. In general, a trip to one was a fantastic present for someone you really loved.

But of course there came the problem of Shizuo’s dad wanting to take Shizuo’s mom to one and Shizuo also wanting to take Izaya to one. It would be weird if all four of them went to the same place, and almost like this awkward family thing instead of a romantic date. Not to mention the lovely aspect about Japanese hot springs being nude.

You couldn’t wear clothes to a Japanese hot spring. It just wasn’t done. In some of the very newest ones directed at the more conservative Western tourists, you could wear a swimsuit, but in the ones Shizuo and Shizuo’s dad were thinking of going to, they were banned. Nude mixed bathing was okay in Japan – women could grab full towels to wrap around their bodies when they exited the water and men had smaller ones to cover their lower areas – but there was still a feeling of awkwardness present if the mixed parties going were parents and their children on dates.

Shizuo and his dad would both be trying to be romantic at the same time. Imagine being naked with your partner in a nice relaxing hot spring…and having either your parents or your son and his boyfriend right across from you, also naked and trying to feel the love in the air.

Not. Very. Nice.

So they ended up having to select different hot springs since neither would budge on the idea, and Shizuo’s dad (being the jerk he was) immediately called the Yufuin Onsen for him and his wife.

The Yufuin Onsen is located at the foot of Mt. Yufudake in Oita. It is voted as the top hot spring area in Kyushu in many surveys and is very popular, especially among women. Accommodations are located in a rural area with fantastic scenery, and there are individual museums, fashionable restaurants, and shops that all make up practically their own tourist attraction. It is by far one of the best places to take your date if you’re trying to be romantic and fun.

Shizuo hated his father in that moment. He really, truly did.

After his father cackled gleefully and skipped away, ready to buy some train passes to head over to the onsen, Shizuo had had to search for one for Izaya. Izaya might like watching all the big crowds at the really popular ones, but he might also be uncomfortable with flaunting his body in front of so many people. If they went to one with swimsuits, then it was almost guaranteed to be full of noisy Western tourists or children in a water park, and that screaming, annoying atmosphere wasn’t good for a romantic excursion. That left outlier hot springs in rural areas, which were very traditional and calming, but also very expensive. Shizuo didn’t exactly have thousands of yen to drop on one trip, not to mention train passes to wherever they needed to go. So maybe a hot spring that wasn’t too private and expensive, but also wasn’t very popular and public. Something in the middle. But would it be nice enough?

He just didn’t know!

Shizuo scrolled helplessly through the thousands of onsens scattered all over Japan, hoping for something, _anything_ to catch his eye that said “Izaya”.

As he started scrolling through a page listing onsen with popular tours, a single word did end up catching his eye.

Jigoku.

Hell.

“What in the…” Shizuo backed up on the page and re-read the link to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. He wasn’t. It was the Beppu Onsen in Oita, Kyushu, nearby the Yufuin Onsen, with a famous tour that Shizuo had somehow never heard about. The Beppu Jigoku Meguri. The Beppu Hell Tour. What in the world was _that_ about?

It was strange and unorthodox, seemingly out of place among all the other relaxing and romantic onsens, yet something told Shizuo to click on it. Something told Shizuo that this might be the perfect trip for Izaya.

“Here’s hoping the universe is looking out for me.” Shizuo muttered, opening up the link.

There he was able to read about the Beppu Onsen’s famous Jigoku Meguri. Apparently, Beppu boasted the most numerous and hottest hot springs in Japan. It had a huge number of hot spring wells, more than any other establishment in the country, and some of them were among the hottest in the world, seeing as Beppu also had the hottest water in Japan. They called those dangerously hot hot springs Jigoku springs, or Hell springs, and they varied in temperature and size. On the Jigoku Meguri, you were led through all of those springs, only looking out at some of them from very far distances, and told about each one. They represented different layers of hell, and there were quite a few of them. Some of the biggest ones were Sea Hell, Blood Pond Hell, White Pond Hell, and Tornado Hell.

Oh, and you could also try some of their specialty onsen eggs which were boiled in those freakishly hot hot springs.

Delightful.

As Shizuo scrolled through the website, looking at the details of the tour as well as of the actual relaxing hot springs which you could bathe in (if you were brave enough) after the tour, Shizuo decided that this would be the perfect place for Izaya.

On the tour, everyone was clothed, and that would help ease any discomfort Izaya might have about the nude excursion. The tour itself was full of lovely information about hell and trivia on hot springs, which Izaya was sure to gobble up alive, and you could take pictures all along the tour of the freakish hot springs, and Izaya was a big fan of evidence of freakish things. Then, at the end, they could go to one of the actual relaxing springs with the probably very small amount of people brave enough to dip themselves in hot water after hearing about hell for an hour or so, and hang out. Izaya wouldn’t have to be exposed to huge crowds of people while naked, although he could observe the huge crowds on the tour, he could relax with Shizuo and observe a few of the bravest specimens of humanity, and they could eat weird food cooked in hell springs.

He'd love it.

Not to mention the fact that Shizuo could make his father pay for their train passes since the two hot springs were in the same city _and_ prefecture.

“Universe, thank you for taking me to hell.” Shizuo said aloud, clicking on the link to order online tickets for the tour and running off into the house to find his father. He only had to hope that he knew his boyfriend as well as he thought he did.

***

It was White Day. That particular holiday had never been too much of an issue for Izaya. Sure, he’d had the occasional admirer who gave him some chocolate on Valentine’s and thus he’d had to fork over some on White Day, but he was too feminine-looking for many of the girls to approach in a romantic way. And he didn’t exactly have any close female friends who would feel obligated to give him chocolate on Valentine’s Day. White Day wasn’t a big deal, just like Valentine’s Day.

Except this year it was. Because this year he was dating the perfect blonde Heiwajima Shizuo. On his girls’ birthday just a month ago, Izaya himself had given Shizuo Valentine’s Day presents: honmei-choco…and his virginity, if that counted as a present. He wasn’t sure about the process of getting anything in return, especially since Shizuo had technically given Izaya _his_ virginity as well, and so the raven wasn’t sure if he had to bring something to Shizuo for White Day.

Should he? But what if that made things awkward? What if Shizuo thought he was the only one supposed to bring something on White Day since Izaya had prepared more gifts on Valentine’s? Why wasn’t there a protocol for something like this?!

White Day had gone from being something relaxing and unimportant to a very big stressor in his life. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know if he was doing something wrong. He just didn’t know! And that made him very nervous.

Though not as nervous as the call he’d gotten from his beloved Shizu-chan that morning, asking him to meet Shizuo at the train station, JR Line. The JR Line was a pretty long train line; it could be going almost anywhere in Japan. But its most popular destinations tended to be outside of Tokyo so…were they leaving the city? Were they going on some kind of trip?

Holy cow, Izaya was not prepared for this! He didn’t have anything _nearly_ this fancy or nice prepared for Shizuo for White Day! In fact, he still wasn’t even sure if he had to bring something for White Day at all!

But he’d decided to just try and go with the flow of things for once (mostly because he had no choice with his sheer lack of preparation) and he’d asked if Kasuka could watch the girls for the day while they were gone.

Shizuo responded that Kasuka would easily agree to picking both toddlers up from daycare once they were finished, and he would also watch them until Shizuo, Izaya, Namiko, and Kichirou returned. Because apparently, Shizuo’s parents were also going on this trip. So they were skipping work (although most couples _did_ tend to do that for White Day, so it was pretty much a tradition) while Shizuo and Izaya were skipping school (less of a tradition – high schoolers didn’t really plan extravagant excursions for White Day) and…they were all going to the same place?

Izaya was very confused by this whole arrangement, but…he needed to go with the flow.

He agreed and hung up the phone, relaying the plan to his little sisters as he walked them to the daycare.

He wondered what Shizuo had planned for them. What kind of White Day present was this?

He was still wondering that as he arrived at the train station, JR Line, looking around for the mop of bright blonde hair which signified his boyfriend.

He found Shizuo sitting by Namiko and Kichirou on a bench near the loading platform, and Shizuo stood up and waved him over, a big smile on his face. With a few warm greetings exchanged between all parties, the group of four waited for the train to show up, with two of them knowing what was going on, and the other two thoroughly confused.

When the train arrived, both couples quickly climbed on and grabbed seats, crowds of people rushing around them onto the train as usual, the hustle and bustle all around them typical for a workday in Japan as people got ready to go about whatever business they had. Izaya held Shizuo’s hand on the train, making casual conversation with the blonde about the people around them and Shizuo’s current grades in school and whatnot, all throughout the ride.

Part of Izaya wondered if he was so chatty because he was nervous, but Shizuo didn’t seem to notice or mind. The blonde responded to everything is a normal tone, rubbing his thumb soothingly over Izaya’s hand and pressing the occasional kiss to the top of his head. It was a nice train ride…but Izaya was still confused and nervous.

His confusion and anxiety only increased when they reached the Yufuin Station and Kichirou and Namiko got off…but Shizuo and Izaya stayed on.

Shizuo tugged gently on Izaya’s hand when the raven rose to get off with the adults, making the smaller boy look back in surprise. “Not yet.” Shizuo said simply, smiling at him and waving his parents goodbye as they exited the train. Namiko looked just as stunned as Izaya at their unexpected parting, and the raven realized he needed to reevaluate how good the Heiwajima males were at keeping secrets. Neither one of the nosiest people Izaya knew (himself and Namiko) had a clue as to what was going on.

The train rode on for a bit longer, with Izaya growing increasingly confused as each stop passed without Shizuo moving a muscle, until they finally reached Beppu Station. Beppu? That was still in Oita like Yufuin, but Izaya didn’t know much about it beyond that. What exactly was here that Shizuo wanted him to see?

Naturally, the blonde didn’t say a word to Izaya about what was going on, merely leading him off the train and continuing their casual conversation from before, heading off into Beppu like he had somewhere very specific in mind.

Mystified, Izaya followed his boyfriend, chatting back and forth with him as they walked, unable to figure out what exactly was going on.

For some weird reason, the air started to get hotter as they walked in a certain direction, and Shizuo’s speed increased the tiniest bit like they were nearing their destination. What could be making the air hot like this? Where were they going?

Shizuo finally stopped them in front of a large gated building with a ticket counter out front, handing the lady manning it a pair of tickets. “Two for the Beppu Jigoku Meguri.” Shizuo said to the lady, and Izaya gawked at his boyfriend in shock. The Beppu Hell Tour?! What was _happening_?!

The lady took their tickets and gave them some basic directions for once they were inside the gates of the building, talking about how the tour started in one area and the bathing houses and relaxing springs were in another, and all the while Izaya could see white steam floating from various places behind those huge gates. If Izaya didn’t know better, he’d think the place was on fire. But then the smoke would be blacker, and he’d smell something burning. This smell was…different. It almost smelt like minerals and rain. It was a nice smell, but an unusual one, that he’d never smelt before. Wait a second…

“Did you take me to an onsen?” Izaya asked in shock as they walked through the gates and into a huge establishment of buildings and hot spring pools, steam rising up all around them and all kinds of people moving about. There was a tour group standing off to one side, waiting for it to start, and Shizuo began to direct them that way, smiling down at Izaya as he did so.

“Yes. It’s the Beppu Onsen. I hope you like it.” He said shyly, his cheeks tinging themselves a little red, either from his bashfulness or the steam, Izaya couldn’t quite tell. But either way, Izaya was sort of glad he couldn’t, because that meant Shizuo couldn’t tell which one was making Izaya blush as well.

“Th-Thank you.” Izaya managed to get out, looking around in wonder at all of the hot springs and hot spring-related things around them. “I’ve never been to one before.”

“Really? Your parents never took you to…” Shizuo trailed off, apparently realizing the answer to his question before even finishing it. Izaya didn’t blame him. It was probably weird for someone with such a close-knit family to come across someone else whose parents were barely ever home.

“No. They didn’t.” Izaya said lightly, shrugging and treating it like a regular thing. “But that means you get to do something with me that no one has ever done before! This should be exciting!” He shot his boyfriend a big grin, and Shizuo smiled back, squeezing Izaya’s hand gently as they joined the waiting tour group.

“I’m glad you think so.” The blonde said lowly, watching as a smiling tour guide walked up to them, ready to begin. “I wasn’t so sure how romantic hell could be…but it seemed to be right up your alley.”

Izaya giggled at this, and looked eagerly at the tour guide in front of them, feeling excitement bubble up within his chest. Shizu-chan had picked this onsen out specifically for him. He had wanted to make sure it was something Izaya would like.

And he’d been right! The concept of Jigoku and eternal punishment had always fascinated Izaya greatly. Not to mention the fact that they could take _pictures_ of all the Jigoku-related stuff! This was going to be amazing! And it was all for him.

Izaya had no idea how a simple box of chocolate could be worth this entire trip but…

He kissed Shizuo on the cheek as the tour started, eagerly pulling out his phone so he could take pictures of whatever strange hot springs they encountered, absolutely ready for anything that was about to come his way.

He was excited beyond belief.

***

Izaya looked pretty happy as the tour progressed.

He listened attentively to everything the tour guide was saying, raising his hand and asking questions constantly, very pleased with the quick and intelligent way the tour guide answered him each time. He snapped photos of the steaming hot springs with delighted giggles, red eyes sparkling like he was considering jumping in at any second, and Shizuo actually tightened his grip on the raven’s hand a few times for fear of that very event. He knew Izaya was excited…but he didn’t want him to be _that_ excited.

As they reached the first “ring of hell”, the tour guide turned to them with a cheerful grin and gestured at the hot spring behind her. It was a huge, cobalt-blue hot spring with white steam twisting and curling up from its surface like a dragon was hissing underneath, heating the air around them almost pleasantly. Shizuo could see a large glass building nearby that seemed to be taking in some of the steam as it sat, there, proud and tall behind the beautiful spring. This was hell? Sure didn’t seem like it.

“This is Umi Jigoku, or Sea Hell.” The tour guide chirped happily as people began to take pictures of the gorgeous spring. Izaya was one of the more enthusiastic picture-takers, pushing his way to the very edge of the road and leaning slightly over the protective fence between them and the spring to snap closer pictures. Shizuo hurried after his boyfriend, grabbing his hips tightly so that he wouldn’t fall. Shizuo knew that Izaya was too graceful to fall in but he couldn’t help the pure panic that shot through him at the thought of it.

Man, Shizuo was going to have a heart attack by the time this was over, wasn’t he?

“About 1,200 years ago,” The tour guide continued, seemingly unfazed by the overexcited raven practically leaning into the hot spring. “A volcano erupted and the cobalt-blue Umi Jigoku sprang forth – iron sulfate being the source of its unique and lovely color.”

Shizuo peered down at the gorgeous blue waters below, so vibrant and bright like no water he’d ever seen before. Iron sulfate, huh? Sounded bad but…it looked so beautiful.  
“Don't be lulled by this spring’s beauty, though.” The tour guide smiled, almost as if she had read Shizuo’s mind. “Umi Jigoku is 200 meters deep and, at 98 Celsius (208.4 Fahrenheit), almost boiling! Better watch your step: one fall in, and you won’t be coming out.”

Shizuo gulped and subtly tugged Izaya back from the edge, ignoring the clear pout on the smaller boy’s face at being pulled away from the deadly spring. Beautiful but deadly. Maybe he’d been wrong not to think of this as hell before.

Izaya raised a hand in the air and the tour guide glanced over, smiling brightly at him and nodding. “Yes?” She asked, and Izaya grinned widely at the chance to ask his question. “That greenhouse over there,” He said, pointing to the large glass building rising in the distance. “Is it heated by Umi Jigoku’s steam?”

The tour guide clapped her hands in appreciation, eyes sparkling as she nodded enthusiastically at Izaya. “Yes! Very good, sir! That was the next bit of information I had for you, actually.” She turned to look at the rest of the group, gesturing towards the glass building behind her. “The steam from Umi Jigoku heats a nearby greenhouse where Victoria Amazonica water lilies bloom between May and November.” She said smoothly, and many of the people ooed loudly, trying to see inside the glass walls so far away.

But it looked like the tour didn’t include greenhouses because the guide swiftly ushered them along down the path of hell, smiling brightly all the while.

“Right by the entrance of Beppu Onsen, our stores sell pudding cooked in Umi Jigoku's steam.” She announced as she led them along. “I highly recommend it!”

Izaya turned to Shizuo with a very serious look on his face. “We must try it.” He said severely, and Shizuo stifled a laugh at the overly serious nature of his voice for a topic as light-hearted as pudding, simply nodding in agreement. He wouldn’t say no to pudding. Even pudding cooked from the steam of Sea Hell.

The tour guide stopped them in front of another spring next, and this one wasn’t nearly as pretty as its predecessor. This one was a pit of bubbling gray mud, with small spatters of it going everywhere in the spring, and strange formations of circular mud being formed over and over before exploding and splattering back down into the superheated mud from whence it came. It was…something. Shizuo didn’t know what to call a pit of hot, bubbling mud.

Thankfully, the tour guide did.

“This is Oniishibozu Jigoku, or Oniishi Shaven Head Hell.” She told them all, stepping aside for them to get a good look at the mud.

“Even hotter than Umi Jigoku, at an average of 99 Celsius (210.2 Fahrenheit), Oniishibozu Jigoku gets its name from the mud bubbles it spouts that are said to resemble a monk's shaven head.” The lady chirped, and Izaya ran over to, of course, take some pictures of superheated mud bubbles.

Gotta have those. Romantic memories, right?

Shizuo again subtly kept a grip on his boyfriend’s hips, the raven’s own personal anchor, and resolved that if one of those bubbles popped within even two meters of them, he was pulling them both away right then and there.

“The town Onishi which this spring is named for signals its hellish association by using the kanji character for "demon" in its name.” The tour guide continued, gesturing over at a sign with the name of the spring on it. And Shizuo could indeed see “demon” right there in the white lettering. Why would anyone name their town using that kanji? Who the heck had founded it?

But naturally, Izaya spun around and snapped some eager pictures of the sign, too, giggling to himself before turning to the tour guide with sparkling eyes.

“The people of Onishi invented Setsubun, right?” He asked, and the tour guide again looked at Izaya, utterly impressed. “Yes! Every February, they clear their homes of evil spirits by throwing soybeans at invisible demons during the Onishi Setsubun festival.” She informed the others, smiling secretly at Izaya like there was something else to the story that only she and the raven knew.

Izaya giggled back and took another picture of the sign, humming happily as their group began to move off to the next ring of hell.

Shizuo was already beginning to get uncomfortably hot. He was going to start sweating really soon.

The next hot spring looked like a bunch of steaming puddles, all gathering in one place. The steam huffed and puffed in the air around them, further heating Shizuo’s already burning face, and while he was not overly impressed with the appearance of a few puddles, he was impressed with the way such tiny things were able to make him feel like he was being cooked alive.

“This is Yama Jigoku, or Mountain Hell.” The tour guide announced. “Resembling mountains of mud according to legend, the pools of Yama Jigoku are in reality more like superheated puddles. Harmless though they may appear, they reach a scorching 90 Celsius (194 Fahrenheit)!”

Shizuo shook his head at the freaky hot puddles, glancing off into the distance to spot some small enclosure-looking thing with a bunch of people milling about in it, looking into small exhibits. Shizuo couldn’t see what was in them from this distance, but he supposed he could ask.

“What’s that building over there?” He asked the tour guide, but before the woman could answer, Izaya responded, “It’s a mini zoo, Shizu-chan!”

The raven blushed and apologized quickly to the tour guide, but she only laughed and smiled at him. “Would you like to help me on this tour?” She joked, and Izaya laughed with her.

Then the lady looked at Shizuo with a smile and said, “That mini zoo nearby features animals acclimated to the heat of Yama Jigoku. Flamingos, monkeys, snakes and a hippopotamus who loves being fed carrots.”

With that slightly random comment, the tour guide spun on her heel and began marching them off to the rest of the hells. Shizuo was going to need a cool drink after this but Izaya seemed to be loving it.

The next place was slightly more interesting than steaming puddles. There were six different hot spring pools in it, all different colors, and at the entrance to the pool there was a cooking pot with a strange red demon statue sitting right on top of it. This might be the place where they made their specialty eggs.

“This lovely place here is Kamado Jigoku, or Cooking Pot Hell.” Came the cheerful voice. “Our red demon right there guards the entrance to its six ponds, some of which reach the boiling point, while others are just cool enough to briefly put your feet and hands in.”

She winked at them all, a mischievous look in her eyes as she said, “It wouldn't be "Cooking Pot Hell" without steamed vegetables and hard-boiled eggs, now would it?”

She gestured at some workers on the other side of the spring who were dipping baskets of vegetables and eggs into the water very carefully and slowly.

“They are preparing our famous Jigoku Mushi: Vegetables and hard-boiled eggs cooked in the boiling water and steam of Kamado Jigoku.” The tour guide told them, and naturally, Izaya had already been taking pictures of them long before everyone else ran over to begin getting their shots.

Shizuo was willing to bet money that this tour guide had never seen someone so excited for hell as Orihara Izaya. How much more of hell was left?

“Four springs!” Izaya answered cheerfully, and Shizuo realized he’d spoken aloud. His cheeks flamed in embarrassment and he looked sheepishly over at the tour guide, but the lady just pointed at Izaya with a wink. “Exactly!” She chirped, spinning on her heel and gesturing for them all to follow her.

Shizuo took a deep breath, holding Izaya’s hand as they continued on the path. Only four. He could handle four more. But with how hot and steamy the air was becoming, and with the rate at which Shizuo’s head was beginning to spin, not to mention his near constant heart attacks whenever Izaya rushed straight at these hell springs, he wasn’t sure if he was going to survive this tour of hell.

The next hot spring looked like a regular salt spring…except it had murky water pouring out from it and gushing all over in a huge lake-like thing. Murky water. That was it?

Izaya rushed over to the edge and began taking pictures, and this time, the tour guide’s face was overcome with worry. “Don’t get too close to the edge!” She warned harshly, and Izaya obediently stepped back…right before a massive crocodile reared its head sharply out of the water, snapping its jaws powerfully in the space the raven had just been in and looking right at him before sinking back down into the water.

Shizuo’s soul had officially died and gone to hell. Christ, he was never letting Izaya near the edges of these pools again!

The blonde grabbed Izaya in a death-grip bear hug, pulling him closely against his chest as he gawked at the murky water which was now swimming with the outlines of riled-up crocodiles.

“I think you can all tell why this is called Oniyama Jigoku, Demon Mountain Hell, and better known as Crocodile Hell.” The tour guide laughed, motioning to the swimming beasts in the water behind her. “Oniyama is home to around 80 of the creatures, as well as some alligators, all slithering around in the murky water.”

“I wanna feed one!” Izaya said excitedly, bouncing in place, and Shizuo nearly threw himself in the water just to get his eternal torture over with. This truly was hell!

“You can’t feed one!” Shizuo snapped, pulling Izaya further back from the edge as another crocodile surged up with its eyes on the energetic raven.

“Actually, he can!” The tour guide chirped. “Right over there is a station where you can spear a store-bought chicken and hold it out over the water, feeding whichever crocodile or alligator gets to it first.” She pointed it out, and a second worker waved at them from where he stood, stabbing one of those uncooked chickens and getting ready to hold it out.

Izaya thrust his phone into Shizuo’s hand and looked up at the tall boy. “Take pictures if you love me.” He said quickly, dashing off for the station.

“Izaya!” Shizuo called after him, but the raven was already scrambling up the steps and reaching eagerly for the spear as the worker laughed and handed it over, giving him a few instructions on what to do.

Shizuo groaned and cautiously approached the water for a better angle to take pictures of his crazy boyfriend with, holding up the phone with a frown and aiming it right at the giggling raven. He looked cute right now, Shizuo would admit that. With his bright red eyes and big goofy grin…and an impaled chicken on the end of a spear being fed to a massive crocodile.

This date…was definitely unique. Never before had Shizuo thought he’d be taking his love interest to stab chickens and feed crocodiles on White Day but here he was.

Why was he dating Orihara Izaya again?

Oh right. Because he loved the crazy bastard.

“The steam pressure here is strong enough to pull one and a half train carriages, as well as creating ideal crocodile-breeding conditions.” The tour guide informed them all, watching with the rest of the group as Izaya eagerly stabbed another chicken and held it over the water, giggling like crazy as he did so. A tiny crocodile, probably a baby, popped out of the water and scrambled frantically over the backs of the larger ones, making a daring leap for the chicken with his jaws open wide, and snapping the whole thing up before any of the others could grab it. The baby dove under the water, dragging his prize with him, and the other crocodiles snapped their jaws in frustration, waiting for more chicken.

Izaya laughed and looked over at Shizuo with a big grin. “Did you get that? Did you get that on camera?” He asked excitedly, pointing at where the baby crocodile had disappeared.  
Shizuo nodded and held a thumbs-up, gesturing for his boyfriend to come back over as the tour group started up again. Looked like no one else wanted to feed the hell crocodiles. Shocker.

The next hell spring was a bit less traumatic for Shizuo. No hidden crocodiles ready to snap up his boyfriend at a moment’s notice. No, this one actually looked a bit like one of those meditation gardens that you saw in Japanese mansions and traditional temples. There were white rocks arranged in a pile right in the center of a milky green pond, with creamy white steam spouting from it, and lush bushes surrounding the entire thing.

“This lovely place is Shiraike Jigoku. White Pond Hell.” The tour guide told them, moving aside now that people actually _wanted_ to take pictures up by the edge. “Shiraike Jigoku's milky color comes from a combination of boric acid, salt, sodium silicate and calcium bicarbonate. You’ll notice that it resembles a traditional Japanese zen garden.”

“I like Oniyama Jigoku better.” Izaya pouted a little bit, dutifully taking pictures of this hot spring as well despite his complaints.

Shizuo disagreed, but he kept that opinion to himself, choosing instead to stare at the peaceful white steam and glance over at a slightly run-down building not too far off. He wondered if that building was somehow connected to Shiraike Jigoku.

“This hot spring spouts steam at a temperature of 95 Celsius.” The tour guide babbled. “And there is a run-down aquarium right over there which you can visit after this tour to see some wonderfully heat-tolerant fish like piranhas!”

Aaaand the peaceful image was ruined. Thanks again, hell. Thanks so much.

“Piranhas!” Izaya asked in excitement, looking at Shizuo with wide eyes. “No.” Shizuo said flatly, wiping some sweat off his forehead that was forming due to all the steam. He wasn’t even going to negotiate this one. Izaya had already fed the hell crocodiles, Shizuo didn’t need to see hell piranhas.

The raven pouted, but seemed to understand Shizuo’s abrupt refusal and simply took a few more pictures before following the tour guide off again.

“Tatsumaki Jigoku! Or Tornado Hell!” The tour guide shouted as they neared the next one. And Shizuo could see why.

Just behind her, a huge geyser was spewing hot water into the air, higher than Shizuo even thought possible, and he gawked as it kept getting higher and higher, heat radiating off it like the sun itself, sweeping over their faces and burning their bodies just by being near it. It was loud, stupendously hot even from over 10 meters away, and freakishly high as it just kept spewing water into the air.

Izaya took eager pictures of the hot geyser, but Shizuo kept a firm arm around the boy, refusing to let him run anywhere near that monstrous eruption. He could take all the pictures he wanted from riiiight here.

After what seemed like several minutes, the geyser finally slowed its violent spewing, the deathly hot water seeping back into its entrance and allowing “cool” air to filter back into the space around them. Shizuo knew that the air here was probably hotter than what they’d been feeling for the last few hot springs, but compared to that eruption, it still managed to feel cool. Just how hot _was_ that thing?!

“Regarded as a natural treasure of Beppu, Tatsumaki is one of Japan's few geysers.” The tour guide began to speak, smiling brightly at them all. “Erupting every half an hour or so for up to 10 minutes, its spout can reach 50 meters (about 164 feet) without the stone plate that is used to block it off.”

Shizuo gawked and stared back up into the sky, marveling at how something like this could even exist. That was terrifying. Purely terrifying. And it got even worse.

“At a fiendish 150°Celsius (302°Fahrenheit), Tatsumaki also has the hottest water of all the hells and emits hot sulfurous gases.” The tour guide told them, never losing an inch of her cheer.

How. Did. She. Do. This. All. The. Time.

Maybe she couldn’t feel heat. That _had_ to be it. Or she didn’t sweat. Or she couldn’t produce her own natural body heat so she survived on the freakish heat from these springs. How did she _do_ this?!

“So cool!” Izaya squeaked, laughing and snapping some happy photos of the now-resting geyser. A sleeping 150°Celsius monster.

Shizuo was going to be a very good person from now on. He did not want to go to hell when he died.

Thankfully, they only had one more spring left after that.

As they came up to it, Shizuo noticed the strange red color of its water and its steam. It was a deep red, richer and more vibrant in color than Shizuo thought water could get, yet still very plainly red. This had to be the Blood Pond Hell that the website had talked about.

Sure enough, when the tour guide waved her hand at the hot spring, she announced proudly, “And our final stop: Chinoike Jigoku. Blood Pond Hell.”

All the tourists gathered around to gawk at the red water and steam, taking pictures and reaching out to put their hands over the steam floating up into the air. Shizuo wasn’t sure if it was safe, but this air felt decidedly cooler than all the air so far, and he quickly followed suit, marveling at the strange feeling of heat and wetness in the form of smoky air.

“This is the oldest of the hells.” The tour guide told them, smiling as she held her own hand out over the steam. “Chinoike's vermillion color comes from the acidic iron and magnesium-filled clay oozing from the ground. It is also the coolest of the eight hells at 78°Celsius (172.4°Fahrenheit), but you still should not touch any part of it. Only the steam at a safe distance from the water is recommended.”

Izaya waved his hand around in the air, swirling the red steam experimentally, before glancing over at a stand not too far away from the pool. “What’s that?” He asked, gesturing at the stand.

The tour guide glanced over at it. “Oh. That’s a stand that sells ointment made from the clay in the spring used to treat skin diseases.” She said nonchalantly, like it wasn’t anywhere near as important as all the other hellish facts she was able to list.

She stepped back from the red steam, smiling brightly as usual at them all, and gave a little bow. “And that concludes the Beppu Jigoku Meguri! Thank you all so much for joining me on this journey through hell! If you feel like dipping in a hot spring that probably won’t boil you alive, head back to the main onsen through this gate for our more relaxing hot springs. And don’t forget to try our Jigoku Mushi! Thank you!”

It was no wonder nobody ever went to the other hot springs after a closing statement like that. “Probably?” Shizuo repeated skeptically, but at this point, he really did just want to relax. Maybe eat some hell eggs. Who even cared? What the hell, right?

“Izaya. Wanna head over to those?” He asked tiredly, looking down at his still-amazingly-sparkling boyfriend.

Izaya looked up at Shizuo with his mouth open, like he was about to suggest something else, but he saw the exhausted look on Shizuo’s face and closed his lips in a soft smile, kissing Shizuo on the cheek gently. “Sure.” He said, taking Shizuo’s hand and beginning to lead them back to the main onsen. “You deserve some time to relax.”

“Yes I do.” Shizuo agreed. “I’ve just been through hell.”

Although Shizuo had to admit that the light-hearted laughter ringing from his boyfriend made every bit of it worthwhile.

***

Izaya had loved the tour. No other way of putting it. He was in love with the Beppu Jigoku springs. Each of them was so interesting, with all their little quirks and dangers! His favorite was either Oniyama Jigoku or Tatsumaki Jigoku. Those were by far the best. And he wanted that baby crocodile for a pet. Could you adopt the hell crocodiles? Was that a thing?

Or would Shizuo rather have a dog for their first pet together?

…

Probably a dog.

Izaya hated dogs.

But no matter what their first pet might end up being, Izaya didn’t need to worry about it right now. He didn’t need to worry about anything. Right now, he was relaxing in a secluded hot spring with his boyfriend, with only about five other people in there with them, and life couldn’t be more perfect.

Izaya sighed as he leaned on Shizuo’s shoulder, wafting his hand through the steamy air as he drew lazy circles and patterns around them, relishing in the hot water that surrounded his pale body, seeping into cuts and bruises all over and helping to heal them right up. The water was healing and comfortable. The steam was soothing and almost mystical. Shizuo’s body was smooth and strong. Everything was just…perfect.

“I’m so glad we came here today.” Izaya said softly, watching as his breath puffed the steam around in the air in front of him. “I really had fun.”

“I could tell.” Shizuo said with a chuckle, his hand running up and down Izaya’s arm slowly. “You were all but jumping in at each spring.”

Izaya laughed a little at the comment, knowing it was true, snuggling against Shizuo’s body as he lounged against one of the rocks.

They were naked right now, bodies pressed against each other in water only slightly murky with minerals, but…nothing felt awkward. There was no heated sexual tension. There was just…this feeling of connection. This togetherness. Izaya felt like he was one with Shizuo at that moment in time, their bodies intertwining beneath the steamy water together with no intent behind it than to just be with each other.

Izaya closed his eyes, letting his whole weight (which admittedly was not much) relax onto Shizuo’s solid body, completely trusting the strong arm wrapped around him to make sure he didn’t slip into the water if he fell asleep.

“We should come here again.” The raven whispered, drawing a hum from his partner’s chest at the suggestion. “Not anytime soon, of course. But like…I dunno. As an anniversary thing?”

“You wanna come here once a year maybe? To show the anniversary of our first trip through hell together?” Shizuo joked, but that actually sounded pretty good to Izaya. It sounded sweet and romantic. At least to him it did.

“…Maybe.” Izaya said quietly, unsure of what Shizuo thought about it.

The blonde paused, and then gentle lips were touching the top of Izaya’s head, kissing it through the warm steam all around.

“Sounds good to me.” Shizuo responded in a deep voice, and Izaya’s heart fluttered in his chest. “Yay.” He said softly, slipping his arms around Shizuo’s torso and snuggling down into him. He was about to fall asleep. He could tell. Warm places always made him sleepy, and lord knew that Beppu Onsen was a warm place.

But he knew Shizuo would protect him if he fell asleep. He trusted him.

“Night.” Izaya mumbled tiredly, yawning a bit as he relaxed in the hot water around them.

Shizuo laughed softly, running his hand up and down Izaya’s naked body gently as the raven drifted off to sleep, helping him relax even further in the grips of warmth around them.

“Goodnight, my sexy little koala bear.” Shizuo responded, and confusion instantly struck the raven. He resolved to ask Shizuo what the heck that meant…right after he took a quick cat nap.

“We’re…gonna get a baby crocodile...once we’re…married…” Izaya managed to murmur, body completely slumping against Shizuo’s as he fell into the embrace of sleep.

The last thing he was aware of was another soft laugh from Shizuo, another gentle run of that hand along his body, and the words, “Sounds good to me. As long as the wedding comes first.”

They’d spent a day together in hell, on a day most couples held hands and walked around in romantic locations. They’d watched boiling geysers erupt and fed raw chickens to crocodiles. They’d waded through superheated steam and stared at beautiful ponds that could kill you in seconds. They hadn’t done anything which normal couples tended to do on March 14th, White Day. But that was totally okay with both of them.

They would spend the rest of their lives in hell, so long as they were there together.

And that’s all there was to it.

**Author's Note:**

> Right! Now I had to edit this right before I posted it so I hope it all came out okay. And if any of you who read the Valentine's Day one-shot before this caught the koala bear reference, then I applaud you! Whole-heartedly! <3
> 
> In any case, now I really have to eat dinner before I whither away so...bye! I hope you liked it! <3 <3 <3


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